PSA to all pitbull/bully mix owners - Do not go here!…read more
I'm truly beyond words at the treatment we received here, and would not recommend anyone give them business. My dog was suddenly wimpering and having issues moving, so I took her here instead of our primary vet because we were told they had an XRay and could do testing for us. Over the phone before coming in, I let the staff know that my dog wears a muzzle when outside because of her fear reactivity, and she cannot be in a waiting room with other dogs, and specifically described her behavior when scared so they understood, and they said they could absolutely accommodate her. When I got there, we were put in an exam room, and a nurse came in to ask me questions. I provided all her information, vaccination and spay history, her primary vet to contact, me and by boyfriend's names, and answered all their questions. The vet then came in, and looked visibly put off by my dog barking, continously asked me to make her leash shorter because she was uncomfortable being within less than 3 feet of her, and not only looked at my dog with what felt like disgust, but also it felt like I was being shamed as a pet owner because of my dog's reactivity (she is 1.5 years old, and in training to help this.) She placed paperwork and supplies to collect samples from her on the edge of the desk and backed away from us, and then only once tried to ask me for the leash, when she flinched and told me that there was no way we could do an exam on her. We had already discussed sedation to do XRays and I gave the go ahead, but she flat out refused to go anywhere near my dog at this point. While I'm in tears in our exam room, trying to calm down my very stressed and injured dog, she was the farthest thing from empathetic. After this visit, my boyfriend called to get some clarification on why she wouldn't exam the dog, since all other vets we have been to have understood her reactivity and been able to manage her fine, and she said she "couldn't confirm her rabies vaccine" and that she was "too aggressive" (she is a fully muzzled dog, barking, who has her tags for registration and vaccination right on her collar) She was very rude when asked why she didn't try to introduce herself to the dog or speak to her to calm her down, since her fear is of strangers, and her words were "I usually don't talk to dogs because they can't speak back." Once again, I felt she was trying to paint my dog as a rabid animal, and was not at all empathetic to the injured dog I brought in, who again, could not have done anything to her or her staff, because she was fully muzzled. My boyfriend tried calling again, because on top of this we were charged an exam fee, even though they refused examination, and they hung up the phone when we asked to discuss this. He then went to the office to discuss the bill, as we didnt feel it was fair that we pay for a service you declined to give our pet, and didn't treat her with the same standard of care all animals deserve. Instead of speaking to him about this, as soon as he said his name to the receptionist, they threatened to call the cops and let us know we were "fired" as clients. I have never been more heartbroken with how my dog, myself, and my partner were treated in this process, and I would've appreciated honesty through this. Over the phone, the vet tried to tell multiple stories that were compeltely untrue about my and my dog's behavior, and couldn't offer any explanations for her actions. Truly, this situation was escalated out of control by Dr. Vander Broek, and if they were unable to accommodate my reactive dog, they should've said so. I wholeheartedly believe if she wasn't a pitbull mix, we would've had a better experience, but I don't think they had any intention of helping us. If you cannot treat every dog, regardless of their situation with basic decency, you shouldn't be a vet.